Equipment
- 1 zester
- 1 small pot
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 60 mL lemon juice
- 42 grams salted butter, room temperature
Lemon Cookies
- 113 grams salted butter, browned to 93 grams
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 2 large lemon zest
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 30 mL lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract , or vanilla bean paste
- 150 grams all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
Toasted Meringue
- 150 grams granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar, *optional
- 3 large egg whites
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste, or extract
- tiny pinch fine sea salt
Method
Lemon Curd
- Combine the sugar, eggs, lemon juice & zest, butter and salt in a small nonstick or enameled (NOT metal) saucepan over medium-low heat.*50 grams granulated sugar, 1 large lemon, zested, 1 large egg room temperature, 1 large egg yolk room temperature, 60 mL lemon juice, 42 grams salted butter room temperature
- Whisk continuously until it thickens, about 5 minutes, just until it reaches about 170F (77C) - don't go over. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- While it’s still hot, press the curd through a sieve into another bowl/jar, cover it and allow it to cool completely to room temperature. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Lemon Cookies
- In a small pot, over medium heat, cook the butter for 5-10 minutes, stirring intermittently until it begins to bubble and foam.113 grams salted butter browned to 93 grams
- Then stir continuously until you see the milk solids browning and settling on the bottom. Pour the butter into a bowl and allow it cool for a few minutes. If measured now, 113 grams of butter should now measure 93 grams. Refrigerate for a few minutes.
- Place the sugar into a medium-large bowl and zest the lemon on top. Use your fingers to massage the lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils.150 grams granulated sugar, 2 large lemon zest
- Add the butter to the sugar and whisk until they're completely combined.
- Then add the egg yolks, lemon juice and vanilla and whisk together aggressively for 2-3 minutes, until it's smooth and has lightened in color.2 large egg yolks room temperature, 30 mL lemon juice, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- Add the flour, salt and baking powder and fold the cookie dough just until there are a no more streaks left of flour.150 grams all-purpose flour spooned and leveled, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- Freeze cookie dough for 15-30 minutes or refrigerate for about an hour. Scoop eight 2 ounce cookies and roll between your hands to get smooth cookie dough balls. Place on a lined baking sheet (they spread a lot).
- Preheat oven to 325F (163C) convection and bake one sheet on the middle rack for 10ish minutes, remove, bang on the counter, use a round biscuit cutter to scoot them around so they’re round again and return to the oven for another 4ish minutes, just until the edges are starting to brown.
- Remove from the oven. The edges should be lightly browned and the top slightly puffed and no longer wet. Give it another quick tap on the counter & scoot them around again so they’re perfectly round.
- Use a tablespoon or small cup to make a slight indent in the center of the cookies to contain the lemon curd.
- Allow to cool completely and then spread about 1 tablespoon of lemon curd onto each cookie.
Toasted Meringue
- Bring a small pot with a little water to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer (keep it on very low heat).
- Wipe down your equipment with a tiny bit of vinegar or lemon juice (any edible acid) and then place the sugar and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisking them together.150 grams granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp cream of tartar *optional
- Add the egg whites to the bowl and whisk the egg whites into the sugar. Place the bowl of egg whites and sugar on top of the simmering water (making sure it doesn’t submerge into the water) – you want the steam to heat the egg whites.3 large egg whites
- Whisk the egg whites frequently so they don’t coagulate around the edge of the bowl. Generally around 5 minutes, the sugar will feel like it’s dissolved in the egg whites but you want to take the egg whites to 175F (80C) in order to get that stable, marshmallowy texture, which is normally around 10 minutes for me. So make sure to check the temperature with a thermometer between the 5-10 minutes (it may take up to 15 minutes).
- Once it’s at 175F (80C), turn the stove off, remove the bowl from the simmering pot and place it on the stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Beat at medium speed for a minute and then increase to medium-high for about 10 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla extract and salt and mix, that just until it’s combined, making sure to scrape the edge of the bowl as well. The texture should be thick and marshmallow – not dry or foamy.2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract, tiny pinch fine sea salt
- Pipe on top of the cookie and lemon curd and use a culinary torch to toast the meringue.
Notes
- Store bought lemon curd will work as well but I don't particularly love any of them to recommend.
- Store in an airtight container, refrigerated for 4-5 days or frozen for a few weeks.
- If you need the meringue to be SUPER stable you can add gelatin to it.
- I just dissolve a ¼ tsp of gelatin in 1 tsp of cold water. Let it set for a few minutes and then microwave it for 5 seconds. Add it in with the vanilla and salt, mixing just until it’s well combined. It’ll set once it’s refrigerated.
- I just dissolve a ¼ tsp of gelatin in 1 tsp of cold water. Let it set for a few minutes and then microwave it for 5 seconds. Add it in with the vanilla and salt, mixing just until it’s well combined. It’ll set once it’s refrigerated.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 421kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 5gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 135mgSodium: 308mgPotassium: 87mgFiber: 1gSugar: 45gVitamin A: 612IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 65mgIron: 1mg